Swallowtail Tuxedo
by Six Ribbons
Summary: Van appears back in Wendy's life, but as usual, trouble follows wherever he goes.
1. Chapter 1

Van sat awkwardly at Wendy's dining room table, watching the girl who had travelled with him for so long preparing him food. A glass was pushed in front of him and he frowned. He didn't think he'd asked her for milk, had he? And she wouldn't remember, not after almost ten years. Surely. But then, he glanced again at the milk, maybe she had.

Wendy smiled at him as he glanced up under the brim of his hat. She placed the food in front of him, before carefully lining up the condiments alongside. He allowed his face to relax into a hint of a grin, before pouring the condiments. He took a wary bite.

"Damn that's good," he yelled, not noticing Wendy start. Nor her glowing smile.

Van sat back with a contented sigh, resting his hands casually behind his head. Wendy sat opposite him with her own food.

"So," Van started, "How have you been?"

"I've been good," Wendy smiled, "I'm managing the Evergreen Bistro, have been for a couple of years now. I still see Carmen occasionally; she's changed professions, although I don't exactly know what it is she does anymore. It brings her to town sometimes. She comes to the Bistro for something to eat and to gather any new gossip."

"So she still deals in information." Van stated. He had never expected Carmen to change _that_ much.

Wendy nodded. "Have you," she blushed; Van noted with interest, why would she blush? "Have you seen much of Priscilla or Carmen recently?"

Van shook his head, "I've just been wandering; haven't seen much of anyone at all."

Wendy sighed, "Oh." She settled back in the seat, letting her hands rest on the table.

Van studied her. She hadn't changed much since he had last seen her. She had lost the braids, and it now reached half way down her back in loose curls. She was taller too, but that was about it. Her face had lost the baby softness she had still had.

Van stood abruptly, glancing out the window. "Well, I'd better get going," He readjusted his hat and went to walk out.

Wendy leapt to her feet. "Why," She grasped his sleeve. He looked at her, startled, "I mean you can stay here if you'd like, I can fold the couch out for you."

"Well," Van hesitated, "That's very kind of you, but I have to get going."

"Where are you going then?" Wendy demanded, "The Claw is dead, he has been for years, Elena has been avenged, again, for years." She released his sleeve, sighing. "Fine, go then, I don't care."

"If you don't mind having me stay, that would be welcome." His voice was soft. He remembered not being able to stand it when she was upset before they all went their separate ways, but he didn't think it would still affect him. Wendy stared at him for a moment before a bright smile lit her face and she rushed off to prepare a space for him to sleep. Van followed more slowly, wondering at the smile. Why would she want him to stay? He collapsed across the couch, pulling his hat over his eyes. "Thanks," It was a grunt more than a word and Wendy waved slightly before leaving the room.

Wendy woke the next morning to her typically silent house. She stood and stretched, pulling on a robe. Walking into the lounge, she frowned. Her couch was neatly packed away, the blankets folded on top of it.

She stared. He had just left, not even bothering to wait for her to wake up. Van of the Dawn indeed.

She huffed, not wanting to admit, even to herself, how much that upset her. She slowly prepared for work, her usual enthusiasm damped down. She hadn't even gotten to say goodbye to him. Maybe it was better this way, she mused, he obviously still didn't care.

Wendy dressed quickly, glancing at the clock. She had time for breakfast if she moved quickly.

The front door opening made her pause, her hand going automatically towards the knives she had displayed on the bench.

"Hey," Van walked in, holding up a bag. "I brought breakfast." He held up a paper bag before placing it on the table, eyeing her warily.

Wendy glanced at herself and laughed shortly, "I'm sorry, I didn't realise it was you," She placed the knife back in the block, "I thought you'd left already."

Van was studying her. "Can you use that knife?"

"Passably," Wendy admitted, "I'm a better shot though." She sat at the table, setting it automatically and dishing out the food.

Van was puzzled. What had happened to her since they parted ways that she had felt the need to learn how to use a knife, in addition to actually apparently becoming proficient with a gun? He was curious, but decided if she wanted him to know something; she would tell him in her own time. After all, she had never had an issue with it before.


	2. Chapter 2

Van sat on Wendy's front porch. He wasn't sure which direction he was heading when he left Evergreen. He didn't even know why he'd come back this way, he'd been deliberately avoiding the place. He knew Wendy had been looking at him as more than just her travel companion the longer they travelled together and he didn't want her to have any expectations of him that he didn't think he could fulfill.

The sun was sinking below the horizon, beginning to disguise everything in shadows. He wondered what time Wendy finished work. She had rushed off after breakfast with a hurried apology, and he had been left to amuse himself for the rest of the day.

He had considered summoning Dann, just to reconnect with his armour. He hadn't summoned him in over a week, and it felt odd, he could feel himself starting to get sicker from the lack of contact. But he had decided against it eventually. The people of Evergreen were nervous of strangers, and armour they didn't recognise flying down would panic even the steadiest of residents.

A figure approached Wendy's house, and Van tensed. It wasn't Wendy; he could see that from a distance. This person was taller than Wendy, and, as far as he could tell, male. He tilted his hat, studying the stranger as he approached.

The man was relatively tall, probably up to almost Van's chin. He was more solidly built, with tan skin and dark hair and eyes, dressed in well-worn workman's clothes. He watched the other man's eyes narrow warily.

"What are you doing here?" The stranger demanded as soon as he was within speaking range. "And who are you?"

"I'm Van." He stared at the other man, ignoring the first question. He didn't know the answer either.

"Van who?" He was aggressive. Van stiffened, before forcing himself to relax. If this person was a friend of Wendy's, she would not be happy if he hit him, and might stop cooking for him. Wendy was a fantastic cook.

"Just Van," he shrugged, watching the man warily from under the brim of his hat. He toyed unconsciously with the ring hanging on the right hand side of his head, resisting the urge to squash the man with Dann of Thursday. He forced himself to ease back onto the chair, one hand hovering unobtrusively near the handle of his sword.

Another figure approached from the direction of the town. Van squinted, he hoped it was Wendy; he could really go some food. He was starving.

"Van," even though she sounded startled, Wendy's smile was radiant. "I wasn't sure if you'd have left already or not."

"You had a point last night." He admitted, "I'm not in a rush anywhere anymore, I can spend a few days if you really don't mind having me. It might be nice to have an actual bed for a couple of nights." He gave her a small grin, before flicking his eyes quickly to the man standing in the shadows of her porch.

She still recognised the unspoken cue, as if only a couple of days ago they had still been travelling together. "Mick, what are you doing here?" She sounded angry, and Van's hand grasped the handle of his sword, ready to react at a moment's notice.

"I hiked all this way out of town to discover my girlfriend was shacking up with some random stranger." He raised a hand at her, and Van reacted. You didn't hit a woman, regardless of what she had done. And Wendy had done nothing here, that he could see.

Before the fool could blink, Van was crouched in front of him, the tip of his sword resting lightly at the base of his throat. "Take one more step." His voice was low and threatening, eyes narrowed dangerously.

Wendy grabbed his arm, "Van, stop it. You're not getting arrested for him. Let's just go inside." She tugged on his arm, trying to get him to relax, and move away. Van allowed himself to be pulled away, wrapping his sword back around his hips.

"That's right, you cheap whore," The idiot was still talking, but Van had stopped listening as soon as the name left his lips. He didn't even bother with his sword. Van's fist connected with the other man's nose. It made a satisfying crunch under his knuckles.

He staggered back, blood dripping down his face. "What the hell?" He yelled.

"You don't talk about women like that." He had returned to his usual languid way of speaking, like the last minutes had never happened. Inside he was still fuming. You especially didn't talk about _Wendy_ like that.

"Come on Van," Wendy sighed, "Let's have dinner."


	3. Chapter 3

Another day passed, and then a week.

Van was still sleeping on Wendy's couch, spending his days in her veranda, wandering Evergreen and with Dann. He was beginning to get bored. Wendy was at work all day. She never seemed to have any time off. And he was used to something happening, even if it was just someone trying to steal Dann.

So when he saw the poster advertising the armour fighting contest, he was intrigued. Especially when he saw the prize money potential. And it was only one town over; he could travel home in Dann every night after competition. It would only take a few minutes.

Van froze in the middle of Evergreen's rebuilt town square. _Home?_ Since when have I had a home? He shook himself. He was going soft. Maybe he needed to go up with Dann on the satellite, get his head checked while he was up there.

He re-examined the ad. Maybe he would do it. Then he could get out of Wendy's hair. He was sure she wanted him gone by now, she must be sick of him. He'd been eating her food and taking up space on her couch for almost a week and a half now.

He took the sign slowly from where it was pinned to a wall, tucking it securely in an inner pocket of his jacket.

Wendy lifted her head and smiled as he walked in the door. She was cooking something that smelled amazing.

His stomach growled. Suddenly, he was starving. Wendy laughed at him. "Sit down," she gestured at the table with the wooden spoon in her hand, "Dinner's only a couple of minutes away."

Van sat and carefully smoothed the now-creased piece of paper. "What's that?" Wendy leaned over his shoulder as she placed a plate down in front of him. He glanced at it approvingly. She had already put all the condiments on it. Just how he liked it.

"An armour tournament, in a week." Van shrugged offhandedly. "I'm thinking of entering."

Wendy studied it intently. "You'll need to practice if you plan on winning," was all she said in response. "And you may need to actually get a bank account." There was amusement in her voice for the last comment.

"Damn that's spicy." Van had started eating and Wendy couldn't help but giggle as she sat opposite him.

Wendy stood behind Van at the entrance to the competition, staring around her. It was oddly similar to the one they had gone to while travelling together. There was a look to armour fighters that was the same no matter where they went. Van stepped up to the entrance table, scrawling his name and paying the entry fee.

"And you miss?" The official looked at Wendy and she shook her head, hurriedly stepping behind Van.

"Oh, no, I'm just here with him." The man raised an eyebrow, glancing between the two of them. Wendy flushed, hurrying after Van. She knew what he had been thinking, and there was nothing like that between them. She had thought about that when they were travelling together, but she had grown up, and he was never going to get over Elena. Now they were just friends, and she was surprisingly happy with that relationship.

Van stood at the entrance to the stands, toying with his hat.

"Nervous, new boy?" A woman sauntered up, leaning against the wall opposite him. Her dress was ridiculously short and her hair painfully blue.

"Nope," he shrugged, disinterested in whatever conversation the woman was trying to have.

"Van," he heard Wendy call, "Where did you go?" He almost smiled, as if she couldn't see him; he was distinctly taller than everyone around him. He turned and waved her over. She rushed up, her ponytail trailing behind her. She stopped next to him, looking up at him curiously after glancing at the woman. He could feel the disdain for the other woman radiating off her, and it made him want to laugh. She linked her arm through his. "Who's your new friend?"

"I'm Valerie," her voice was cold, eyes measuring as she studied Wendy.

"Oh, are you entering?" Wendy asked delightedly, leaning forward eagerly. Van shook his head; she was still so innocent in some ways. She had no idea that the other woman was already planning which knife she was going to bury in her back.

"Yes, I'm a rider. I've won this contest every year since I started entering," her voice was back to sweet and she looked at Van, as though he should be impressed. Wendy's hand tightened painfully on his arm, and he wrapped his hand around hers, trying to get her to loosen them. He had forgotten how protective she was when it came to strange women.

"Well, I guess I'll see you in the final then," Van shrugged, walking Wendy away from the other woman. He didn't want to have to deal with her attacking a contestant and getting kicked out.

Wendy watched anxiously from the crowd as Dann was thrown straight up. She was half hidden behind her own hand, too terrified to look.

The crowd roared and Wendy lifted her head anxiously. Dann stood, steady, while the other armour, Valerie, Wendy realised after a moment, lay on the ground, a suddenly useless pile of metal. She rushed down as Van stepped out of Dann. Clearing the boundary fencing, she hugged him, laughing delightedly, "You did it." She was standing almost in Dann, having unconsciously stopped just before her feet entered the space that would be inside his head.

He swung her in a hug, smiling. She was so happy for him; he couldn't ignore the affection as he usually did.


	4. Chapter 4

Wendy leaned on the bar at the Evergreen Bistro, examining every facet of the presentation before they opened for business for the evening. It was immaculate, she had to admit. Her staff was well trained and knew exactly how she wanted things done. She nodded to the maître and she unlocked the door, swinging it open to the cooling night air. Then it was just a matter of waiting and serving, the hardest part of the night was over, for her anyway.

The woman from the armour competition sashayed in. She smiled at Wendy, "Do you mind if we have a chat?" She asked, surprisingly polite.

Wendy studied her; "Sure," she led the woman out the back, into one of the small private dining rooms. "What can I do for you?" She turned to face the other woman. The bat connected with the side of her cheek, sending her spinning out, her head hitting the edge of the table as she collapsed. Her vision blurred and she lost consciousness.

Van sat on Wendy's front veranda, waiting for her to get home. It had been three days since the competition, and he had finally put him money in the bank earlier that day. Wendy had been too uncomfortable having large sums of money in her house, especially since everyone knew Van was staying with her, and that he had won the armour competition. He had to admit that she might have a point. He really didn't want to bring any trouble down on her.

A figure raced towards Wendy's veranda. It was a slim girl in a black dress. "Van?" She asked desperately.

"What is it?"

"Wendy's gone." Van straightened suddenly, leaning threateningly towards the small woman. "We'd just opened for the evening and this woman came in-"

"What did she look like?" Van's voice was sharp.

The girl flinched, "She was tall, in a really little dress, and she had blue hair. I didn't really get a look at her, I was busy." She swallowed, "Anyway, she wanted to speak to Wendy and they went out the back. When we went in to make sure everything was alright, they were gone, and there was blood on one of the tables."

Van froze. It was the woman from the armour tournament. What had her name been? He frowned. He'd have to find her. The armour circuit was probably the best place to start. "You go back to work," he told the girl, "I'll handle this." The girl nodded and fled back in the direction of Evergreen.

Wendy woke slowly, everything was stiff. She lifted her head and looked around, struggling to remember what happened. She wasn't at home.

"Oh," a voice, saccharine enough to rot Wendy's teeth, spoke, "You're awake, how nice."

They were in what looked to be an abandoned warehouse. There was nothing but a table and a chair, and the spike in the ground that Wendy was currently chained to.

"Valerie." Wendy spat, livid. "What exactly do you want?"

"You mean it isn't obvious?" She tittered, "Van destroyed my armour, now he owes me a new one. And I want his."

Wendy laughed, she couldn't help herself. "And you think that taking _me_ is going to somehow make Van give you Dann?" Her voice was incredulous. Valerie paused, staring down at Wendy. She leaned forwards in the chair. "And I thought you were unintelligent the first time I saw you." Wendy couldn't help herself. The woman was an idiot. Van probably wouldn't even come looking for her anymore, and there was absolutely no way that he'd give Dann of Thursday up, and she told the other woman so.

Valerie was livid. She'd gone to all the effort of finding out where the girl worked and actually travelling to the dump, only to find out she didn't even matter to Van? "But he's staying with you," She protested, "Aren't you two together?"

Wendy laughed, "Oh god no, Van thinks I'm a child, he's only staying with me because there's nowhere else he can think of that he particularly wants to be." Wendy was amused. She couldn't believe someone thought Van was attached enough to _anyone_ to even look for them, let alone contemplate giving Dann even temporarily.

A bar connected with Wendy's hand where it rested on the floor. Her vision greyed and she swallowed convulsively, trying desperately not to throw up. "Then I just have to get rid of you," Valerie sneered furiously. She turned, slipping out the door.

Wendy heard it lock behind the other woman. Tears slid down her cheeks as she nursed her hand against her chest. She had no idea how she was going to get out of this. She tugged at the chains securing her to the floor and sighed. They were sturdy, from what she could see in the darkness of the warehouse. She sighed, rearranging herself to be as comfortable as possibly on the hard floor, deciding the best thing for the moment was to try and rest, and recover.

Van stood at the arena for the armour fighting, his hand on his sword. He was surrounded by other armour riders. "Why are you looking for Valerie?" One of them, a short, barrel chested man demanded.

"She made an offer to me, and I'd like to discuss it with her further." Van was relaxed. He knew he was faster than any of the men surrounding him.

"Well, really?" A voice behind Van crooned. "And what offer was that?"

Van turned to her, "I think you know what I'm talking about." Van remained calm, although inside he was enraged.

She smiled at him coyly. "I think I may. Come with me and we can talk."


	5. Chapter 5

Wendy woke slowly. There was no one around, although a tray of food was resting just within her reach. She studied it carefully. Picking up the bread, she sniffed it. Her stomach growled and she sighed. If it was going to kill her, hopefully it would do it quickly and not be too painful. She ate the bread quickly, before turning to study the concrete where the chain secured. It was solid, but she could see where it connected. She extended the reach of the chain as far as she could. She was able to move a few feet in each direction, tugging on it. Maybe it would loosen if she created resistance.

Wendy sighed. She hoped she had been lying when she had told Valerie that Van wouldn't even look for her. Although she didn't think she was. She was simply a convenient place to stay while he decided where he was going next.

She tugged at the cuff on her wrist. All it did was chafe. She sighed, sitting down against the wall. All she could do now, really, was wait for someone to come in, and hope she was able to convince them to let her go.

Wendy tugged again at the chain, desperately trying to find a way out of the situation knowing Van had managed to get her in. She thought that she would have learnt her lesson last time she travelled with him, but clearly not.

The door opened slowly, letting the light flood into the warehouse. It was a short, barrel chested man with sandy hair. "Well, lass, what are we going to do with you?" He frowned at her, considering.

"Let me go?" Wendy suggested. It was always worth a shot, even if it nearly ever worked. As she expected, he laughed.

"Good try lass, but you've seen us now, we can't let you go. We're just trying to find a tidy way of getting rid of you." He sighed, "It's not you lass, we just can't have word getting out on what we're doing here."

"I have no idea what you're doing," Wendy argued, "so there's no point keeping me." He frowned. Wendy inhaled, she was almost out. She watched him carefully for a moment.

"First blood?" The offer was abrupt. "You win, you're free, I win, and you stay."

Wendy frowned, trying to look hesitant. She knew she was probably good enough with a knife to beat him, but she wasn't certain enough to bet her freedom on it. At least if she kept him talking, nothing worse could happen.

"What are the rules?" Wendy frowned at him.

"First blood, in thirty minutes, but you'll have the time to warm up." Wendy thought carefully, studying him. He was cocky, didn't think she'd be able to get near him. Hopefully she could use that against him.

"Fine, thirty minutes, same weapons," Wendy studied him, "You unchain me now so I can prepare." He eyed her carefully before nodding.

Wendy flexed her wrists, desperately trying to regain circulation. If she couldn't feel her hands, she was going to be chained up for a very long time, since she had no hope of Van coming to save her.

"You want Dann," Van stared at the blue haired woman sitting across the table from him. He knew she had blocked all the doors with her lackeys, although he wasn't particularly concerned about getting past them, as long as he knew where she had taken Wendy before he left.

"Yes," The woman all but purred, "I assume you're here to negotiate?"

Van shrugged, "Hn." He wasn't sure if he would tell her that, even if she had Dann, she couldn't ride him, since she couldn't summon him from the satellite. "First, where have you taken Wendy?"

"I don't think you're in the position to be making demands here," She crooned, reaching over to run a nail down the side of his face.

"Oh," Van felt his face shift into the feral grin he had worn so often in his hunt for the Claw, "I disagree. I am in the exact position for making demands here, since if you don't agree, your employees are dead, there's nothing left of this town and I have Wendy back and Dann still in my possession." He watched in satisfaction as she blanched, sudden fear showing through her façade.

Wendy gasped for breath, deflecting a messy strike towards her torso. She was relieved she wasn't the only one exhausted. He had underestimated her to start, although he had learned that she wasn't unwilling to be rather more brutal than he seemed used to. She still hadn't managed to land a significant enough hit for it to classify as first blood, but then again, neither had he.

And they were both getting close to exhaustion. His attacks were becoming sloppier, he wasn't used to prolonged fights. He did waste significant amounts of energy circling her though, and she hoped he'd continue until he gave her the opening she was looking for.

He shifted his grip on the knife, his back foot shifting slightly as he prepared to attack. He lunged, trying to end it quickly. Wendy stepped to his left, allowing him to miss her by bare millimetres as she drove her weapon straight downwards, piercing his back, just to the side of his spine. She felt the give of his intestines after the resistance of skin and surface muscles and retched, allowing the blood soaked knife to be drawn out as he collapsed, so slowly, to the floor.

Wendy stumbled backwards, trying to escape the spreading pool of blood. Her back hit the wall and she slid down, struggling to keep herself on her feet. She was shivering, a combination of the small amounts of blood lost from innumerable small cuts, and the rush of adrenaline that had kept her going rapidly fading from her system.

She rose, still on shaking legs. The door was still open and she fixed her eyes on it, determined to at least leave the warehouse that now reeked with the metallic tang of blood.


	6. Chapter 6

Van stared at the woman. "I said, bring me to Wendy, show me that she's alright, and we can continue to discuss terms. Until then," Van shrugged. Valerie stared at him before she scowled, agreeing. Van followed her through the streets, surrounded by her idiot goons. The level of noise they made, even as they walked, made him cringe. Subtle noises in the alley to his left made him turn his head sharply, peering into the darkness. There was nothing he could see, so he returned his attention to following the woman who had taken Wendy.

"She's in here," The woman gestured sullenly to the warehouse in front of her.

Van stared at her. "Open the loading entrance then and show me her." The woman scowled. Van smirked, she didn't think this was the first time someone had used entrapment techniques to try and take Dann from him, did she? How… quaint. The men surrounding him broke off to slowly open the doors. A smell in the air made Van stiffen. Was that blood?

Wendy stared at the group of people standing in front of the warehouse she had just managed to crawl away from. Was that Van? Wendy squinted, focusing on the absurdly tall, absurdly thin man with the hat. Who else would it be? Wendy had to admit she was surprised. This was not how she expected things to turn out. She hadn't expected Van to come for her at all.

Now what was she going to do. She hoped he didn't go in there and get himself trapped, like the fool he often acted. She tried to stand, go to him and reassure him that she was alright. But she honestly wasn't sure of that, her vision was blurring and she could feel the weakness that told her she probably wasn't going to be conscious much longer. "Van," she whispered, desperately trying to reach him.

The doors opened slowly and Van peered into the apparently empty warehouse. Valerie cursed as she shone a light against the far wall, where he could see a chain attached to a spike lodged into the concrete floor. The light flickered over a shape on the floor, before everyone's gaze slowly turned back to it. A sandy haired, distinctly male figure lay, face down on the floor.

Valerie whimpered, "Nathan?" Her eyes were shocked and her voice shook. "She killed my brother." Valerie turned to stare at him, her eyes wide in her bloodless face. "That bitch killed my brother." Valerie picked up the knife from where it lay, still in her brother's grasp. "I'll cut her so she bleeds out slowly, and explain exactly why for every single one."

Van appeared at her side, calmly pulling the knife from her grip. "I don't think so."

"Van," the voice was soft and he tilted his head slightly, certain he was hearing things. But the voice called again and he _knew_ that he knew the voice calling for him. And he had the sudden desperate desire to find the owner of the voice, before it faded permanently.

Valerie was efficiently disabled with a practiced strike to the neck, leaving her temporarily unconscious. He turned his gaze onto her employees, who faded away much more silently than he had thought them capable of.

Van was almost disappointed; he had been itching to hit a few of the idiots who thought Wendy was allowed to be used as any sort of bargaining chip.

He heard the voice again and turned towards it, carefully approaching. He didn't think it was a trap, but one could never be too careful, especially with the idiots in this town.

Van stared down at the tiny figure curled up in the shadows in shock. Wendy stared back at him with wide, haunted eyes. They were missing an innocence they'd had even the last time he'd seen her, not two days before. He summoned Dann, knowing, for all he could move fast, he needed to be able to move faster to get her to the hospital. She looked barely conscious, and that concerned him. He could see no serious injury.

He picked her up carefully, cradling her against his, well, realistically, Dann, before taking off to the hospital.

For three days, Van sat in the waiting room of the hospital, exhausted. The nurses had started forcing him to eat after they had noticed that he hadn't moved from the position he had collapsed into after delivering Wendy to them.

Wendy had sunk into a coma, and Van was terrified. He refused to admit it, even to himself, as he stared at the young woman lying lifelessly on the crisp bed, willing her desperately to wake up.

Nor did he admit it as he paced the waiting room, glaring at every doctor that walked through, frantic for news, any news, on her condition.

On the fourth day, Wendy woke. She stared at the room, confused. She couldn't remember anything after the beginning of her fight, and didn't understand how she had gotten into hospital.

She turned her head to the side, her eyes widening as she stared at the man slumped in the visitors seat beside her.

The nurse at the next bed over turned to look at her and smiled. "How are you feeling?" Her voice was quiet. Wendy shrugged. She wasn't sure yet, she hadn't had time to evaluate what, exactly, was hurting. "That's quite a man you've got there, honey," the nurse continued with her one sided whispered conversation, "This is the first time he's slept since he brought you in, four days ago now. I don't know how he stayed conscious as long as he did."

Wendy smiled, startled, as she looked at Van. "Force of will," Wendy smiled, "He does a remarkable amount based purely on that."

Van's eyes opened slowly, to find Wendy staring at him, chewing on her bottom lip. "How long have you been awake for?" He asked, feeling guilty he had been asleep when she finally woke.

"Only a couple of hours. I didn't want to wake you, from what I've heard, you needed to rest." Van scratched the back of his neck awkwardly, pleased to see Wendy smiling, even if it was at his expense.

"The doctor says I can go home this evening, if I have someone staying with me," Wendy hesitated, not sure if she could ask him.

"Excellent," Van stared at her for a moment. "You don't mind if I'm the one who stays, do you?" He looked suddenly awkward, "I'm not sure if I trust anyone else with you at the moment."


	7. Chapter 7

Wendy sat on the couch, straining to see Van. He was in her kitchen, and to say she was nervous was understating things slightly. He had also insisted she not move, or he would call Dann and have him hold her down. Not something she wanted to happen.

Van appeared, holding a tray, with _something_ steaming on it. Wendy watched it approach, warily.

"You don't think I can cook?"

He collapsed on the couch next to her and she giggled, "I've just never seen it, you always buy something premade." Van didn't answer, simply placed the tray on her lap.

She tasted it warily, taking small bites and chewing slowly. Her eyes widened. "Why are you always making me cook?" The exclamation was louder than she expected and she blushed. Van smiled, one of the few genuine smiles she had seen from him.

"Because it means I don't have to." The smile turned to a smirk and Wendy reached over and hit him over the head.

Wendy sat in front of the TV, half asleep, leaning on Van. She had been out of hospital almost a month, and woke every morning expecting Van to have continued on his travels. He reclined back, one arm draped over her back.

Wendy woke slowly, more comfortable than she had been in months. She was warm, and something smelt amazing. "Good morning," She mumbled, nuzzling against the something she was leaning against. Van rumbled agreement.

Wendy bolted upright, "Van, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to fall asleep."

Van smiled, so early in the morning? Wendy was shocked. He pulled her back against his chest, wrapping both arms around her, holding her securely. "If I'd minded, I would have carried you to bed, it wouldn't be the first time I'd done that." He was stringing more words together than Wendy had ever heard from him before. He kissed her on the forehead and Wendy raised shocked green eyes to meet his, a blush rising on her cheeks. He hesitated.

"Van," it was a whisper, "please don't. I don't want to have my hopes up and then have you leave again without a word."

"I wasn't actually planning on it." Van scrubbed a hand over his face, looking uncertain. "Look, Wendy, I'm always going to love Elena, and I'm not certain I know how to love someone else. But I do care for you."

Wendy stared at him for a moment, eyes huge in her face. "I know that you'll probably never love anyone like you loved her, and you wouldn't be _you_ if you could. Nothing will ever be what you had with her, and I can accept that." She swallowed. "But if you can just give me a chance, anything you're willing to give me, even if that's whatever space is left after Elena, I'd be happy." She slumped, closing her eyes, looking like she was expecting rejection. Instead, Van moved closer as she closed her eyes and pulled her into his lap.

"I'm willing to try, Wendy, just," here he hesitated, "But I'm not going to be good at it, especially not to start with. I'm going to make stupid mistakes, make you angry and frustrated, and say the wrong thing. I'll never hurt you deliberately, and you'll have to tell me when I'm being an ass. Just remember in all of this, that while I loved Elena, and part of me still does, doesn't mean that there isn't space for other people too."

Wendy raised her tear stained face to meet his eyes. He cared for her? Slowly the rest of that began to sink in. He was willing to give them a chance.

A smile blossomed on her face, and she reached up to capture his lips in a kiss.


End file.
